Noah Taitz: underrated Sophomore

Watching Bishop Gorman play this year, many expected to see a less skillful and experienced team from years past. They were not led by Senior production players. They were only right about the experience part. Jamal Bey, Noah Taitz and Isaiah Cottrell were (on paper) going to be the expected leaders of the team. In fact most expected Jamal Bey to be their best overall player. After all he did do extremely well over the Summer and signed with University of Washington. However, in this season for 2017-18 we have noticed a certain player standing out for Bishop Gorman, Noah Taitz.

Noah is a solid 6-3″ all around player who shoots lights out. He is arguably the most efficient player on the offensive end for Bishop Gorman. He entered Bishop Gorman as a Freshmen like many kids but he had a buzz about him early on. He had a dunk during a UA event over the Summer that got people excited. He played Varsity as a Freshman at Gorman. This is no easy task as many great players never do this.

This Sophomore season for Bishop Gorman is unique as their are more underclassman playing than ever for them. Noah Taitz and Isaiah Cottrell are both sophomores while Zaon Collins and Will McClendon are Freshmen playing Varsity. We think it is possible that Noah, for all of his stats, is actually underrated and could be the main man to stop if you had to beat Gorman. Now Jamal is a great player and will do things on both sides of the court. He can defend most positions on the floor and gets buckets night in and night out. Noah just makes a living out of making smart decisions with the ball every opportunity he can.

Statistics:

Noah Taitz during his last 3 league Games:

Durango 15 points, 66% from the arc.

Clark HS; 15 points, 100% FT rate, 50% 3 pt rate

Coronado HS, 22 points, 50% from 3,

As a Freshman he averaged 6 ppg.

Notes: Jamal Bey is their main man. He is headed to University of Washington next Fall and has the skills to lead the team. Jamal has had some big scoring games. He also adds rebounds, plays great defense end to end and acts as a leader for the team with great composure. He has been the focus of most opposing teams this season.

Noah Taitz doesn’t appear to play the minutes that he could in certain games. He is a sophomore after all. You can see looking at his stats that he can cause damage with more touches in games. Head Coach Jack Tarango from Legacy HS said,”Noah could be their guy. He quietly does his job and doesn’t miss shots.” Noah Taitz was pushed from a young age and played lots of pickup basketball. He played against older kids to keep the challenge up. He also had a early start of competitive club soccer until 13 years old.(USA Soccer is missing out on this one!) This means he had good footwork from the start as well as developed toughness at a young age.

The key to beating a big team is often taking away a player or two. We call this limiting our damage for the game. We have witnessed Noah become a deciding factor with Bishop Gorman many times in close games. So why don’t more teams scout for this player? In the first matchup versus Clark HS, Noah played clutch and knocked down shots. He punished the Clark team for every time he was open. He scored a game high 26 points that night and shot 50% from the arc. That is no small feat as a sophomore in a big game.

Bishop Gorman was not known for ball movement prior to this season. The current group passes the ball and feeds on team chemistry to abuse matchups or bad defense. This team is young by any standard but especially for a BG standard. This team is fun to watch and Noah is a hidden piece that makes things work. In Soccer they have a position called center midfield. It usually doesn’t score all the goals but it is the engine of the team and always gets touches on the ball. Noah Taitz is that engine that helps the team go from night to night.

What does the Future hold?

Noah still has two more years of high school left and could end up being a McDonald’s All American player at his peak. He would need to work on some things and put on muscle but what kid doesn’t? He is quite the enigma being such a good player at so young. It isn’t the flashy dunks in my eyes that impress but the ability to avoid turnovers and make smart plays. The dunks are nice though!